“Super 8” Blockbuster Tops North American Box Office, Beat Out “X-Men: First Class”

Released on June 10, 2011, the science-fiction mystery “Super 8” spots No. 1 at the US and Canada Box Office, surpassing top summer blockbusters including “X-Men: First Class”, “The Hangover Part II” and “Kung Fu Panda 2”. It earned an estimated $37m (£23.3m) in its first three days in North America and generally got positive reviews.

Directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie starred Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning and Kyle Chandler.

“Super 8” tells the story about a group of small Ohio town’s kids. While making a home movie using the 8mm film format that the film gets its title, they see one train crash, which triggers some inexplicable events and disappearance.

“Super 8” features real actors, an original story and some genuine thrills

Though many industry pundits had forecast that the “Super 8” would gross from $25 million to $30 million in its three-day opening, it earned an estimated $37m (£23.3m) in North American at the first weekend

According to Paramount, the production cost of the movie is relatively $50 million

"Super 8" earned $6.7 million from nine foreign markets, led by $2.7 million in Australia

The movie’s cast includes very young members, but it attracts an impressive 71 percent of the audience aged over 25

"Super 8" generally receives positive reviews

J.J. Abrams, who directed the movie, topped the US and UK box office charts in 2009 with his hugely popular “Star Trek” sequel

Last weekend’s champion of North American Box Office, the comic book prequel “X-Men: First Class” fell to the second position with $25.0 million. It is followed by "The Hangover, Part II" with $18.5 million in its third weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 2” $16.6 million and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” $10.8 million.

Last week, “X-Men: First Class” grossed a total of $120 million (an estimated $56 million domestically and 64 million overseas)

As of June 5, 2011, "The Hangover, Part II" earned a total of $338,372,000, an impressive number though it generally received negative reviews

The DreamWorks Animation and Paramount's “Kung Fu Panda 2” particularly appeals more and more family audiences